Shadow of Mordor - Face-Off @ Eurogamer

Eurogamer's Digital Foundry posted thie usual "Face-Off" performance analysis of Shadow of Mordor that compares all three versions of the game.

Considered a curveball for PC users, Shadow of Mordor's whopping 6GB video memory requirement for ultra textures makes it - at first blush - appear the version to beat. On the other hand, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases boast graphics settings tailored to each platform in order to squeeze the most consistent rate of performance. Visual features are cut back to this end - to varying degrees for both - though curiously we see certain visual effects exclusive to console. But on balance, does Sony and Microsoft's hardware realise the same satisfying, open-world Middle-earth experience?

Built on a new revision of Monolith Productions' LithTech engine, the commitment to the new wave of consoles is evident. With PS4 and Xbox One alike patched up to version 1.02, the differences at first glance are few owing to a heavy use of pre-rendered cut-scenes of matching compression settings. As is often the case, resolution is a divisive point on the console front. The Xbox One release is immediately on the back foot, with our pixel count tests highlighting an upscaled 1600x900 resolve for the platform. In contrast with the full native 1920x1080 output on PS4, it's undoubtedly a downgrade that echoes the state of many multi-platform releases this year. However, catching this disparity does take very close attention to side-by-side shots - in part due to both versions' use of a heavy post-process anti-aliasing effect.

Curiously, this post-process setting is entirely absent from the PC version's menus. Instead, PC users are left with a raw image, which in our comparison shots is set to output a straight 1080p. As a net result, PS4 and Xbox One are able to reduce flicker when panning across foliage, while these elements appear harsh and pixelated on PC. As a fix, it's possible to set the PC resolution to 3840x2160, allowing the game itself to super-sample the image down to a pristine 1080p output, but given how GPU-intensive this is, a less taxing, console-style AA option would have been welcome.

But are the console versions dialled down from PC significantly? As it turns out, the PS4 and Xbox One come close in most metrics, but fall short in specific areas. For one, texture quality on both is equivalent to the PC's high setting, making for a contrast in mapping quality when planted next to the ultra-HD artwork pack. However, console textures still hold up well from a distance; though the definition on castle walls takes a hit, the gap is marginal in other areas.